Lakewood Ranch, FL Real Estate Blog – Bob Bronston, REALTOR®

Lakewood Ranch, FL Blog

Amendment 4-Do you have a point of view?

February 19th, 2010 2:55 PM

It seems every time there's a new article in the online version of the Bradenton Herald regarding new construction or a proposed new development, the "boo birds" come out en force, decrying the negative impact of new homes on the market, additional traffic, etc. They have a point, of course, but I suspect the same complaints have been around since the first settlers showed up here. No matter where you live or when your house was built, I'll bet there was someone who didn't like the fact that more people were coming.

Amendment 4 seeks to change the state constitution by placing approval of new development plans (or changes to existing plans) in the hands of the voters rather than leaving the decision up to public officials. To see what appears to be a neutral website on the amendment, CLICK HERE.

My personal take on Amendment 4 is that it is an interesting idea that will not work in real life. First, the reason we have representative government in our country is that a true democracy where we vote on everything is too unwieldy. I expect that the need to place these decisions up for a vote will occur too often (or, conversely, will encumber the process so much that nothing will get done) and that these elections will result in increased election costs at a time when we need to be cutting the cost of government, not increasing it. Our representatives are elected to protect our interests to the best of their judgement. If a majority of voters believes that they have not faithfully done so, these representatives should be voted out of office.

I also believe that this movement was started by well-meaning conservation-minded people but, let's be honest, these people can often be zealous to the point of absurdity. Truth be told, they want to stop all new construction and, since only highly motivated voters actually vote, they are probably likely to get their way even though they probably hold a minority opinion. That's not good either.

On the other hand, I'm not sure I buy the argument that we should vote no to 4 because we need jobs to get out of the economic funk we are in. We do need the jobs but we should never let that be the sole reason for changing or not changing our constitution.

I think the need for responsible development is obvious but there must be a better way than leaving the decision-making up to activist voters. Voting for amendment 4 would also require every county and/or municipality to conform to this approach, even if there is no need or call for it. That's one of the downsides of using constitutional amendments to advance an agenda.

What do you think?

Posted by Bob Bronston on February 19th, 2010 2:55 PMPost a Comment (0)

Should you sell now if you don't have to?

February 9th, 2010 6:49 PM

The economy is awful, folks are losing their jobs, can't make their mortgage payments, short sales are everywhere, the world is going to hell in a handbasket. Well, for many, that is absolutely true but for some, things may not be great but they are, well, OK. They want to sell and buy (possibly move up, possibly move down) but they wonder if this is the wrong time to do it. In fact, I had this same conversation recently with an agent in my office who was going thru the same decision making process with her husband.

Here's what we concluded. Feel free to offer different opinions. First, to twist the old adage a bit, a falling tide lowers all boats. In other words, while the current home has certainly lost value, so has the house you are going to buy next. If you look at it that way, the loss is only a paper loss and, when the tide goes up again, your new "boat" will go up with it. Even better, when the market goes up, you'll be riding it up in a house you'll like even more.

Another agent suggested we look at it this way: not only will you be in a house you like better but suppose you bought your current property at $250,000 and sold it at $170,000. You would have lost 32%. Now suppose you bought another house for $170,000 and eventually sold it for $250,000. You will have made 47%! Personally, I tend to work in dollars rather than percentages but I suppose it makes sense.

The other reason it still makes sense to sell now/buy now is the federal tax credit program for current home owners. There are restrictions but someone in this situation might be qualified for a $6500 tax credit which is akin to free money! If you'd like information about this credit, please contact me.

Posted by Bob Bronston on February 9th, 2010 6:49 PMPost a Comment (0)